


stan with a half-hazard plan

by agateophobia



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Adult Losers Club (IT), Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - No Pennywise (IT), Coming Out, Dialogue Heavy, Gay Richie Tozier, Gen, Mild Language, Non-Binary Stanley Uris, Richie Tozier & Stanley Uris Are Best Friends, Richie Tozier Loves Eddie Kaspbrak, Richie Tozier is a Little Shit, non-binary, sippin tea
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-03
Updated: 2020-01-26
Packaged: 2021-01-21 00:10:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21290465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agateophobia/pseuds/agateophobia
Summary: Richie gets a call from Stan and he help Stan figure out he's non-binary
Relationships: Patricia Blum Uris/Stanley Uris, Richie Tozier & Stanley Uris
Comments: 8
Kudos: 108





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i don't know what this is but have some nb stan bcs why not  
(i literally wrote and posted this on the same day while procrastinating doing work)

Richie held his hand over the remote, watching the screen throw him Netflix suggestions that barely phased him. Were Sundays always this boring?

His phone rang and Richie, startled, fumbled the remote and nearly kicked over a glass. Great. He grabbed his phone and looked at the caller. It was Stanley.

Richie held his phone up to his ear and without intending to, did a voice. It was decidedly British. “Hello! Stanley Urine. What pleasure it is to be receiving a call from you. I feel so honoured. What is so important that you are calling me at-” He glanced at the clock. It read half-past two in the afternoon. “…this hour?”

“You’re gay, right?”

Richie flinched, a leftover reaction from growing up in a town like Derry. With his next sentence, he stopped doing a voice.

“Wow, way to put words in my mouth Stan. Jeez, I can’t believe you would just out me like that man.”

“I- you came out like three years ago. And anyways, I wasn’t trying to be blunt,” Stanley said. “I just needed someone to talk to and you’re the best person for this kind of thing.”

“Me? Seriously. Wow, this must be really bad if you’re asking for the Trashmouth’s help.”

“It’s not bad, at least, I don’t think it is bad…” Stanley trailed off and Richie, recognising that tone of voice (he used the same tone when coming out to his friends), straightened up in his seat.

“Are you telling me that _you’re_ gay too? Because being gay’s not an issue and there’s nothing to worry about, everyone loves you, you are fine- Oh shit, you have a wife. Most things are fine-”

“I’m not gay Richie. I just… I feel… I think I…” Stanley muttered. “I’m just gonna go from the start.”

Storytime!

Richie took this as a cue to make some tea. He got up from the couch and wandered over to the kitchen.

“So last night, Patty was arguing about her work and feminism and stuff, and I was listening but I was also reading Bill’s latest book, so I was like half-listening. Anyways, she like offhandedly mentioned that men won’t be able to understand the struggle that is of being a woman. She asked me if I’ve felt the privileges of being a man or if it is was a subconscious thing, but something in that did something to me.”

“Being privileged?” Richie asked, his eyes cast onto the kettle, it’s low humming thankfully not drowning Stanley’s voice out.

“No, not privileged. Being called a man, I guess. Like, I feel kinda, almost… disconnected? I think, from being a man…”

“Are you telling me that you’re trans?” Richie said. Stanley choked on his words, but Richie didn’t hear what was being said as the kettle decided it was the right time to scream. Although Richie could make out a: _‘beep beep Richie’_ and _‘you’re the blunt one now, Richie’_, over the kettle. Once the kettle was done, Stanley’s mini freak-out session was over.

Richie poured the hot water into a mug and put the kettle down before searching for a teabag.

“No, I think I also feel disconnected from being a woman. I mean, I guess that’s normal. I am a man… that’s a bit uncomf-”

“Stan, sex and gender are two different things,” Richie said. He uncovered the teabag and walked over to his mug. “I think what you’re describing to me is that you’re non-binary.”

“Non-binary? What’s non-binary?”

Richie grabbed his mug, the string from the teabag hanging over the edge. “Okay, so y’know how there are men and women.”

“Yeah…?” Stanley said.

“Well, that’s referred to as the gender binary, cos there are two genders. Non-binary is basically a gender that isn’t part of that binary, a third gender if you will. There’s a bunch of other labels but non-binary is a good starting point.”

Richie sat back down on the couch, expecting Stanley to respond, but not getting anything.

“Stan? You alive?”

“…Yeah. I’m alive,” Stanley said. He then went back to being silent.

_Ahh, the processing part of finding a label,_ Richie thought. He decided to do what his friends would’ve wanted him to do in this situation: shut up.

After a few moments, his tea reaching a comfortable drinking temperature, Stanley decided to start talking again.

“How do you know so much about this?”

Richie snorted. Brilliant first question deserved an Oscar for not being about Stanley at all.

“Benefits of being a famous gay, my friend.”

“Oh right, stupid question,” Stanley said. His friend then relapsed into silence again. Richie took a sip from his tea before filling in their silence.

“So, you’re non-binary.”

A pause. “I’m non-binary.”

Richie took another sip from his tea. “Well, that’s great. That’s great. You know that there’s nothing wrong with you, you aren’t alone and we all love you no matter what-”

“I can’t believe I’m like nearly forty and have only just figured out my gender.”

“Well, I guess it’s better than knowing about it since you were a teenager and getting tormented about it,” Richie said. Fucking Derry.

Another pause. “Wait, you knew that you were gay when you lived in Derry?”

“Yeah. Well, when everyone talks about their crushes and middle school relationships start forming, you tend to realise that you’re different than everyone else.”

“And the fact that you had a crush on Eddie when you were younger probably didn’t help.”

Richie nearly spat out his tea. He forgot that Stanley knew about his crush on Eddie (Stanley’s a good confidant). Thankfully Stanley didn’t know that Richie _still_ had that crush on Eddie. But that was a whole other story.

“Hang on,” Stanley said. Richie focused his attention back on his friend.

“Yeah?”

“I just remembered something that I didn’t realise I was repressing.”

“What?”

“… I- there’s always been this kind of _thing_ that I’ve felt. I just know that I didn’t look into it because if I did, I might be even more ostracised than normal. Can’t believe I accidentally repressed my gender.” Stanley forced a laugh, but Richie couldn’t find it in him to laugh with Stanley.

“Fuck Derry,” he said instead.

“Agreed. Fuck Derry.”

The two of them went back to that semi-awkward silence that they’ve acquainted themselves with. Richie took another sip of his tea and fiddled with the remote.

“What pronouns do you want me to call you? Like he, him? They, them? etc.”

Stanley was not that good at responding right away.

“…I don’t know. I don’t even think it matters to me. Like, I’ve been called ‘him’ my whole life that it feels a little weird to suddenly step away from that.”

“So, he, him pronouns until further notice,” Richie said, making it sound like he was taking notes. “But you’re definitely not a guy.”

“Yup.”

“And also, when will we tell the other losers?”

“What?”

“We have to tell the other losers, and also your wife, but I’m not married so I don’t know how to deal with that,” Richie said.

“Do I _have_ to tell the losers?” Stanley asked.

Richie sighed. “You are not slipping into the closet. Trust me, it’s dark, lonely and smells vaguely of fish. I’ve been there for like twenty-seven years and I’m still not used to the fish-”

“It has not been twenty-seven years.”

“Well it sure felt like it,” Richie said, tapping his fingers against the mug. “Anyways, you can tell them about yourself during our next meet-up, which is like in a month. Plenty of time to stew in the closet, or as I would recommend, come out to other people, like your wife.”

“Did you think I was _not_ going to tell Patty?” Stanley asked his voice heavy with disbelief.

“Well, I don’t know. I don’t have a wife.”

Stanley sighed and Richie smirked to himself. One to Richie, zero to Stanley.

“Well, I guess Stan the Man doesn’t work anymore,” Richie said.

Stanley snorted. “Yeah, since I’m not really a man.”

“What about Stan the… Van?” Richie said. “I don’t know, that was really bad.”

“What about, Stan with a Plan?”

“Yeah. ‘Stan with a Plan’ to tell the others that you are non-binary.”

And with that, Stanley took this time to hang up on Richie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i might write more where stan does tell the other losers but i'll probably do it when i don't have any work due soon ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ 
> 
> edit: it has been done!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn’t intend for this to be so sappy, but I was drawing experience from when I came out and I got like a million hugs and nearly cried when I did it so y’know. plus, there’s no way that stan’s not getting a million hugs, he deserves it

Stanley, filled with exhaustion, trudged towards the entrance of ‘Jade of the Orient’. 

Traveling was always a pain, but the simple fact that it allowed him to see his friends made it worth it. 

He pushed opened the door, the heavy weight of the door feeling even worse because of his lack of energy, and stepped into the restaurant. A waitress spotted him and walked up to Stanley. 

“Hello sir, how may I help you?” she asked. A small part of him felt a little bit off at being referred to ‘sir’, but it wasn’t like he could do anything. And anyways, Stanley wasn’t exactly screaming non-binary so it was a fair assumption. 

“Oh, I’m here with Bill Denbrough.” 

She nodded and gestured to a separated section. “Right this way, sir.” 

His eyes followed her arms up the section and walked over to it, nearly knocking over a vase in the process. Stanley couldn’t stop a smile from bleeding out as he was greeted with the sight of Mike and Bill. 

“Hey Stan!” 

Stanley extended his arms out to encompass the both of them. “Hey guys. It’s so good to see you in person.” 

“I know,” Mike said. “Video calling just isn’t sufficient enough.” 

“How’s Patty?” Bill asked. 

Stanley smiled. His last memory of his wife wasn’t that glamorous. “Oh, she’s good. I’m pretty sure that she’s keeping her bed very good company.” 

They snorted, and just as Stanley heard footsteps behind him, Richie’s voices sounded out. 

“What’s this, stealing my jokes now?” 

“Nah. They weren’t that good in the first place, Trashmouth,” Bill said. This sent them in another round of snickering. 

It didn’t take long for the other losers to arrive, and soon enough all seven of them were sitting around the circular table with crinkled eyes and wide smiles. 

The atmosphere finally cooled down after Richie’s ridiculous Patrick Swayze impression, and Stanley realising that it wasn’t going to change, cleared his throat. 

“I- uh… I have… something to, uh… s-say.” 

This was a lot harder than he thought it was going to be. His hesitance caused all the losers to look at him, which just made it worse. 

Stanley looked to Richie, his expression asking for help. 

"The nickname: 'Stan the Man' is no longer relevant." 

That was not the help he was expecting. (It was Richie though, it's not like Richie was suddenly going to be super wise or something.) 

"What?" Ben asked. 

"Uh, what Richie was trying-" Stanley glared at Richie, who only smiled back. "-to say is that I'm... not really a-a... man? Technically. I’m, uh… n-non-binary." 

Stanley found that he couldn't look at his friends, and threw his eyes at the ground. His hands were shaking so he clamped them into fists and tried to ignore the sudden nerves. These were his friends and they were so accepting, so he didn’t really have a reason to be nervous. Wish his body knew that. 

“Hey.” 

Stanley felt a hand on his arm and looked up to see Bill’s caring expression. 

“I’m so proud of you for being able to tell us this. We all are proud of you.” 

With that boost, Stanley looked up at the rest of his friends, and saw that they too had mirrored Bill’s expressions. Overcome with joy and relief, Stan found that tears pierced his eyes and he brushed them away before anyone else noticed. 

Apparently, they did notice, because Ben immediately got up from his seat and pulled Stanley into a big hug. This sudden display of affection caused Stanley to tear up even more, which prompted the rest of the losers to wrapped him in one big group hug. 

“Thank you, guys, so much,” Stanley said. “I may not have been like Richie and actively hid myself for many years, but I still feel so _lucky_ to be able to call you guys my friends.” 

“Losers stick together, Stan. So, we’re sticking by your side no matter what,” Eddie said. Stanley would’ve been lying if he said that Eddie’s response didn’t make him cry. The sudden appearance of tears caused all the losers to hold onto Stanley a bit tighter. 

All seven of them stayed like this for what felt like hours, but was realistically only a few minutes, until someone cleared their throat behind them. Embarrassed, they ended the hug, except for Beverly who still held onto Stanley, and turned around to see a waitress holding the check. 

“I got this,” Ben said, take the check from her hand with a smile. It was his turn to pay so no one objected. After a few seconds, Ben and the rest of the Loser returned their attention back to Stanley. 

“What pronouns do you use?” Mike asked, always the sensible one. 

“I think I’m going to stick with he, him pronouns. But I’m still definitely not a guy.” 

Beverly kept smiling at him and when asked why, she said: “I’m just so proud of you for telling us about your identity.” 

This prompted all the losers to wrap Stanley up in yet another group hug. 

“Thank you, guys. I love you all.” 

\- 

Stanley was lying down in the hotel bed, fast asleep, until his phone lit up to tell him that he had an incoming text. Stanley sighed and grabbed his phone, rubbing his eyes so that he might have a chance to be able to read the text. 

** _ [3:09 am] _ ** ** _trashmouth:_ ** _ y’all is gender-neutral  _

_ Oh my God, Rich it’s three in the morning, _ Stanley thought and turned off his phone before lying back down in the bed. He did not need to wake up to Richie’s shit. 


End file.
